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Why pet food safety
programs are vital to
industry progress
A focus on safety in pet food is vital to ensuring quality and customer
loyalty, says the industry.
LINDSAY BEATON
"Requirements under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) set the standard for food
safety practices among US pet food makers," said
Mary Emma Young, director of communications
at Pet Food Institute. "However, companies may
choose to participate in additional third-party
certification programs. There are various certifications available which can support an organization's individual needs, such as retailer audience or
internal food safety goals. It is important to note
that while these programs may support certain
FSMA safety requirements, certification does
not inherently equal compliance with the federal
regulations."
Third-party pet food safety certifications are plentiful. What's their purpose, and what
should the industry focus on to be successful in food safety? biker3, Fotolia.com
The role of third-party pet food
safety certifications
The food industry in general has been adopting
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
(HACCP)-based food safety management systems
since the mid-2000s, according to Gayan Hettiarachchi, MVM, MSc., director of food safety at
Champion Petfoods, and food safety plans, prerequisites and good manufacturing practices were the
fundamentals of the system. But third-party food
There are certainly enough food safety certifications in the pet food industry to go around.
Ensuring compliance among state, federal and
international standards is complicated enough,
to say nothing of choosing the "right" independent, third-party, industry and retailer standards. While a lot of the
requirements are par for
the course when it comes
Read more: The role of third-party food
to how the pet food
safety standards in pet food supply
industry does business
anyway, there are still
www.PetfoodIndustry.com/articles/5229
decisions to be made.
September 2017
Industry